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It’s a heck of a way to run a pre-election campaign. On the eve of an expected election, politicians usually spend their time playing up good news, downplaying the bad, shaking hands and kissing babies.

National Energy Board ‘pulling a fast one’

Greenpeace activists hang a large banner on one of the oil storage containers at the Kinder Morgan facility in Burnaby in October.

Photograph by: JONATHAN HAYWARD
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — A federal regulator is “pulling a fast one” on Canadians by opening up only a narrow window of opportunity for public participation in Kinder Morgan’s proposed Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline expansion project, according to a B.C. MP.

The National Energy Board, in a letter to the company dated Dec. 31, said Kinder Morgan must advertise the public hearing process in newspapers starting no earlier than Jan. 15 and no later than Jan. 31.

During this period, the company must also notify First Nations, municipal governments and first responders near the proposed route of the $5.4-billion expansion of its existing pipeline. Federal and provincial ministers and officials, as well as various industry associations, must also be advised.

The public participation notice will state that applications will not be accepted after mid-day on Feb. 12. Applicants can either seek to submit a written statement or apply for intervener status.

New Democratic Party MP Kennedy Stewart only learned about the process by searching for documents submitted to the NEB and posted on the agency’s website. The NEB’s own site doesn’t even mention the new deadline, stating as of mid-day Thursday that it “will provide more information on how you can file your application to participate in the coming months.”

Stewart, the MP for Burnaby-Douglas where the pipeline marine terminal is located, said thousands of British Columbians and Albertans may want to participate in the hearings on whether the project should proceed.

The tight deadline means many potential participants could miss the opportunity, he said.

“I feel the NEB is pulling a fast one,” he told The Vancouver Sun in an email on Thursday. “This is starting to feel like a deliberate attempt to shut out local communities from the process. We have more notice and registration opportunities when discussing adding speed bumps to residential streets!”

NEB spokeswoman Sarah Kiley said the board always values public comments, but must speed up the hearing process due to legislative reforms by the Harper government.

As a result of new legislation, the NEB has only 15 months from the date the hearing order is issued to come up with a recommendation to cabinet. The board took more than twice that amount of time before rendering its verdict on Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.

The Harper government’s 2012 reforms also sharply narrowed the scope of public hearings, limiting public participation to those who are “directly affected” by the project or who have “relevant information or expertise.” That reform was brought in to prevent environmental groups and other opponents from swamping hearings with objectors repeating the same message.

The NEB provides a broad definition of what constitutes a direct interest, leaving it to panel members to make their own determination, according to Kiley. The public notice is being distributed this month even though the NEB says it expects to take three to four months to determine whether a hearing order can be issued.

A Kinder Morgan official said the company is aware the public has concerns, but must comply with NEB rules governing public notification.

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